If you don’t think that healthcare social media marketing is important, think again – because patients do. According to one survey, half of all Internet-using patients surveyed said they use social media to check out a doctor, which plays into their decision on the provider they choose.

Potential patients use social media a lot. And a lot of the healthcare information they receive on an ongoing basis comes from social media. Facebook and the like aren’t just to connect to friends and family; they are there to provide information.

Every healthcare provider needs an active and effective social media marketing strategy. Here are a few proven tips that can help you boost your presence and get better results.

Share Videos with People in Them

Videos are powerful. They deliver more engagement on average than any other medium on social media. They’re especially powerful when there are people in them.

Healthcare providers have options when it comes to sharing video. You can shoot a short testimonial from a satisfied patient, for example. Or try profiling a patient or a family member, telling their story and making that crucial human connection.

You can also profile a provider. People love learning more about the human side of doctors and nurses. We all have stories to tell, and if there’s anything that’s true about marketing, it’s this: people love a good, engaging story.

Engage Your Visitors and Followers

Healthcare social media is not just to broadcast your services and team. It’s also to engage with the people who see your content.

Engagement isn’t just getting them to like or share. It’s getting them to actively participate, to interact with the brand and other followers or page visitors.

You can ask questions, provide discussion prompts, host quizzes and surveys, and create competitions. United Healthcare embodied this strategy with their “We Dare You” campaign, which included all of the above plus “dares” that encouraged followers to take action toward a healthy lifestyle.

The more you can spur activity, the more effective your messaging will be.

Consider Going Live

One trend that has really taken off over the past couple of years with social media has been live broadcasts on social media platforms.

Facebook Live is probably the most well-known and successful of these efforts, and people love it. You can schedule and host live streams where viewers can ask questions and interact. Use your team members to respond to questions and engage with commenters.

It’s a great way to showcase expertise and prove credibility while engaging with potential patients and building strong brand relationships and positive associations.

Social media marketing for healthcare providers should not be about posting and hoping that people see it. It should be about finding genuine ways to get people to interact with you in a positive way, and the three tips described above accomplish that in a very effective way.

TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us for more information and see what stories we can tell for you.